Beacon of Hope
by dragonitrogen
Summary: Volkner is a mess and everyone treats him accordingly. Until he meets Dawn, that is. Could she be the one who can finally save him from his depression? Or will she leave him behind to continue on her journey with her ridiculous best friend,Barry (who might just share Volkner's feelings for her)? Beaconshipping.
1. Chapter 1

~Volkner~

"Raichu, hand me the red wire," I instructed my Pokemon, taking a deep breath. This was it; the final step in my three month long project that would result (hopefully) in a 100% increase in Sunnyshore City's solar energy production. I took the wire from Raichu, patting him on the head in thanks, and connected it to the giant battery in front of me. For a moment, nothing happened and I thought that maybe I had done something wrong. I sat there wondering, that is until sparks began to fly from the machine I had spent so long creating, proving my theory that I had made some kind of terrible mistake.

I flew up the stairs that led to my once lively but now abandoned gym and ran out the door, observing my surroundings. Standing on the sidewalk, looking around at all of the newly built skyscrapers and office buildings I saw nothing out of the ordinary. Except, of course, that not a single light shone in the usually brightly lit city.

"Shit," I mumbled as angry people began to walk out of the surrounding buildings and towards my gym. You'd expect the citizens of a city experiencing a blackout to be confused or at the very least to be wondering what had caused such an event, but not in Sunnyshore. They had become very familiar with this unnatural occurrence and there was no doubt in their minds as to who had caused it.

"Volkner!" A middle aged man wearing a suit and tie stepped forward from the crowd. I immediately recognized him as the mayor of Sunnyshore City.

"What have you done this time?" he asked.

"I...uh..." I mumbled, hoping that it was a rhetorical question. Luckily for me, it was.

"You know, when the Pokemon League informed me that a gym would be opening here, I was absolutely delighted," he continued, "Our city was new and prosperous and I knew that a gym would bring in trainers from all over Sinnoh. And I was right. Until this past summer, of course, when you decided to stop accepting challengers so that you'd have more time to inconvenience the whole city with your little experiments. What, exactly, do you think you're doing?"

His words hit me harder than I expected even though I had been aware of their truth for quite some time.

"I just don't find battling enjoyable anymore," I answered, trying to act cam and collected.

"So you stopped doing your job?" he sighed, shaking his head, "I'm so disappointed in you, Volkner."

With that, he turned around and began walking back in the direction he came from, leaving me with the crowd of angry businessmen and women.

Deciding that it would be best to just go home and try to get the power back on, I too began to walk away, ignoring their angry insults as I flung open the door.

I looked at the empty stadium, remembering when it shone with bright lights and the attacks of my electric Pokemon. Now it was always dull, even when the power worked properly and I had the option of using the advanced lighting system I had designed specifically for the place. But there was no longer a need for it. Not since I stopped battling three months earlier. Plenty of trainers still came here looking for a battle so I just set up a container of Beacon Badges that was accessible to anyone who already possessed the other seven Sinnoh badges. I didn't want just anyone taking them so I designed a system to make sure that all takers were qualified. At least that way they wouldn't get stolen and the Elite Four would finally get some challengers for the first time since I became gym leader.

I hadn't lost a battle in nearly six years and honestly, I didn't see that changing anytime soon which is why I closed the gym in the first place. I used to have so much passion for battling but as I defeated more and more pathetic challengers, that passion slowly faded. Flint, my best (and only) friend since childhood and a member of the Sinnoh Elite Four, had even made me go to a psychologist who loaded me up with anti depressants that failed to do a thing. I still kept the nearly full bottles in my bathroom just in case.

Speaking of Flint, I heard the door to my gym burst open, revealing none other than the redheaded fire master.

"Yo Volk! I see you shut down the power again," he called in greeting.

"Ever heard of knocking?"

"Pokemon gyms are open to the public so I can pretty much come in anytime I want."

"Not this one. You know that,Flint."

"Come on man, lighten up. No pun intended."

I rolled my eyes as he laughed at his own joke.

"But really Volkner," he continued, "You need to get this gym up and running again. Cynthia heard about what you've been doing-or not doing that is."

"And?" I raised one of my eyebrows. Even the champion's opinion wasn't going to change my mind.

"She's pissed. And Cynthia never gets pissed."

"Well I think she can deal with a little bit of anger."

"That's not the point. The point is that your city needs you, the trainers need you and the League needs you."

"Flint, even you know that isn't true."

He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the door flying open once again. Seriously, what happened to knocking?

"Hey! Leader Volkner!" Yelled an incredibly annoying voice. I turned towards the sound, facing a skinny blonde boy.

"This gym is closed," I nearly growled at him, "And it would be in your best interest to leave."

"No way! I came all the way here to get a badge and I'm not leaving without one!"

"Didn't you see the bin outside?"

"Yeah but I'm not gonna sink to that level and just take a gym badge without earning it."

"What's your name, kid?"

"Barry."

"Well Barry if you ever want to get to the Sinnoh League and challenge the elite four and champion you need the Beacon Badge. If you don't want it, that's fine by me. I really couldn't care less as long as you leave me alone."

"But-" he began to protest until Flint, who had been watching our little dispute silently, finally cut in.

"Barry, I have to apologize about my buddy Volkner here. You see, he's in a bit of rut right now because he hasn't found any challengers that can meet his skill level, resulting in some pretty boring battles. However, I've been thinking that maybe if he was challenged by someone who could finally give him a good battle, his spark would be reignited. And you seem like you might be a pretty tough trainer. Think you can do it?"

My jaw dropped slightly in surprise. I couldn't believe Flint.

"Flint what the-" I began until Barry's loud and obnoxious voice overpowered mine.

"Absolutely! I guess you know a good trainer when you see one because I'm the best."

"Great," Flint said, "Be back here tomorrow morning and Volkner will battle you then."

"No I won't," I said but Barry had already run out the door in excitement.

"Flint are you insane? No way am I battling that kid," I said.

"Yes you are. And if you lose, you're going to reopen your gym."

I let out a slight laugh at how ridiculous he was being but suddenly an idea hit me. Maybe this wasn't so ridiculous after all.

"Alright," I said with a smirk, "but if I win, I'm going through with my backup plan and you aren't allowed to stop me."

Flint's smile faded as my words sunk in.

"You're kidding, right? That's not a funny joke, Volkner."

"But it's not a joke. I'm serious."

"You can't actually do this."

"I can. Very easily in fact. Now I'm going to go fix the power." I turned and walked away from him, towards the stairs that lead to the gym's basement, where I did all my work with electricity.

"Goodbye Flint, I'll see you tomorrow." And with that, I closed the door behind me.


	2. Chapter 2

**Congratulations on making it past Chapter One! Now it's time to get to the good stuff. This chapter is kind of dramatic, but don't worry, there's still ****_waaay_**** more drama to come: it is only chapter two after all! I'd really appreciate some feedback and if you wrote a review for this story, I'd love you forever ;).**

**Xoxox**

**~Dragonitrogen**

**TW: Suicide**

~Volkner~

"Alright, Electivire, let's finish this up. Use thunderbolt," I commanded my Pokemon. Barry was already on his sixth and final Pokemon while I was still using my second.

"Vire!" Electivire yelled, sending a flash of electricity into the sky, knocking down Barry's Staraptor.

"Staraptor, no!" the young trainer called. The bright spark faded, leaving the bird unconscious on my gym's floor.

"Staraptor is unable to battle, Electivire is the winner," called the robot referee I had created for my gym when it first opened, "That means Gym Leader Volkner is victorious!"

Barry looked disappointed but his glum expression in compared to Flint's. He had come to watch our battle and now that it was over he knew what was going to happen.

I returned Electivire to its Pokeball, nodded to Barry, who had put up a surprisingly good fight and headed towards the door. Before I could leave, however, something crashed into me. That somet_hing_ actually turned out to be a some_one_ who yelped in surprise.

"Oh my gosh I'm so sorry," she said in soft voice. I looked down at the girl, who was rubbing head where it had hit me.

The polite thing to do would have been to say that it was fine but I couldn't. It's not as if I didn't want to, shockingly I actually did, but the girl had literally taken my breath away. Not with the impact she had made when she bumped into me, that was nothing, but simply with her face. She was beautiful. There's really no other way to put it. She was short, barely reaching my shoulder, but in the most adorable way with big blue eyes, long dark hair and porcelain skin. I just wanted to hold her and protect her from everything dnagerous in the world but that would be incredibly creepy; not just because I didn't know her but also due to the fact that she couldn't have been more than sixteen years old while I was twenty-three.

_Stop staring Volkner_, I told myself, _You aren't a perv and now is not the time to start being one. _

My train of thought was interrupted by Barry who ran over to the girl.

"Dawn!" he yelled "What's wrong with you?! You said you'd come to my battle but you never showed up and now it's over!"

I had to fight the urge to punch him for talking to her like that.

_Stop being so illogical. You don't even know this girl. Why do you care so much about what he says to her?_

"I'm sorry, Barry. I wanted to come but then I got lost and I'm surprised that I even made it her at all," she said in that sweet voice of hers. She then proceeded to look up at me, smiling and making my heart start beating incredibly fast.

_What is wrong with you, Volkner?_

"Hi! You must be the gym leader. I'm Dawn." She outstretched one of her hands to me.

_Do something or you're going to creep her out._

I slowly took her hand and shook it gently.

"Uh…yeah. I'm Volkner."

"Well it's very nice to meet you, Volkner. So did you crush Barry?"

"Hey! He did not crush me!" Barry chimed in at the mention of his name, "He won…but barely. Arceus, Dawnie have some faith in me."

Dawnie? Was she his girlfriend or something?

"Well I did knock out your entire team with two Pokemon," I said in an attempt to be funny. Humor was not my area of expertise so it was a very pleasant surprise when Dawn actually laughed.

"You must be quite the trainer. As much as I hate to admit it, Barry's actually not half bad."

"Eh…I'm not that good," I lied," So are you a trainer yourself?"

"Kind of…" she began until Barry interrupted.

"Dawnie's a coordinator!" he yelled.

"Really?" I asked. I was actually interested in knowing more about this girl and that didn't happen very often.

"Yeah…well I'm trying at least. I'm not very good."

"Stop being modest, Dawn. It's annoying. You're one of the highest ranking coordinators in the region. How is that 'not very good'?" Barry sounded more like he was scolding Dawn than praising her but I guess that was just his personality.

"I just meant that I still have a lot of work to do if I want to win at the Grand Festival next month."

"Everyone has to work hard. I'm sure you're really good," I told her. Barry looked at me, confused as to why I was being so nice to Dawn after being so mean to him.

"Speaking of hard work," he said, "I need to get back to training. And so do you, Dawn. You lost really badly at your last contest, remember?"

Dawn's face turned crimson, obviously very embarrassed by Barry, who was really pissing me off. Even though I barely knew Dawn, I found his rudeness towards her almost unbearable.

"Yeah, Barry, believe it or not I do remember," she said sarcastically.

"Good. That'll keep you motivated while we train!" He grabbed her arm and pulled her out the door. I nearly yelled at him to let her go but managed to restrain myself.

"Bye Volkner!" She called as Barry practically dragged her out the door. I waved, feeling the heat rush to my cheeks. I almost never blushed and somehow a teenage girl saying goodbye to me had managed to turn my cheeks redder than Flint's hair

_Flint._ Right, I had almost forgotten that I had won the battle and therefor able to go through with my plan without him getting in the way.

I quickly ran out the door before Flint could catch up with me. He hadn't said anything during my conversation with Dawn, probably not wanting to ruin a moment where I was actually treating someone kindly, but now that she was gone I saw him get up from his seat and start walking towards me. He was going to try and stop me, regardless of the deal we made that he had technically never agreed to.

I couldn't bare to turn around and face him although I could hear him running after me. I knew that I should say something but I didn't think I would be able to get the words out. I had left a note at his house this morning, knowing that I would beat Barry. It said everything that needed to be said. Yet I still felt like it wasn't enough. Flint had always been there for me, he had stayed by my side even though I was a total asshole all the time and yet here I was, about to…

_No_, I told myself, _You aren't going to start feeling bad now. It's too late. You are going to do this. It'll be for the best._

I took a deep breath, continuing to run. The Vista Lighthouse wasn't very far from the gym so it wouldn't take me long to get there. Flint's footsteps faded as I ran out the door and onto the street. I could easily outrun him; I was fast as hell when I wanted to be.

The beach came into view, the lighthouse appearing with it. Even though I had lived in Sunyshore City, a seaside town, my entire life, I was never really a huge beach person. It was always too hot and the sand would stick to my skin. But I did love the lighthouse. I went there whenever I felt particularly sad to stare out at the ocean and calm myself down. No wonder that it was where I was heading now.

I had finally reached the base. Even though I was exhausted, there was no time to stop. I had to do it before Flint got here.

I sighed, opening the door and walking into the lighthouse's lobby. It was open to the public and had become a pretty popular tourist attraction in the last couple of years.

"Hi, Volkner," the lady at the front desk called as I walked into the elevator, ignoring her. Pushing the button that would take me to the top of the building, I realized that my hands were trembling. I pressed them against the cold metallic wall, inhaling deeply.

My mind was crowded. I thought about Flint and what he would be like without me to hold him back. Maybe he could even become champion like he used to talk about when we were kids. I thought about my Pokemon. With me gone they could have the chance to battle again. It was selfish of me to make them quit doing something they loved simply because I didn't want to. I thought about Sunyshore City. The people here wouldn't have to suffer through anymore blackouts now. They would probably throw a 'No More Volkner' party or something. And I thought about…Dawn?

Arceus, I had only just met her. Why did she come into my mind at a moment like this? And why did I feel like I would be missing out on something huge when I gave up the chance to get to know her?

Well it didn't matter now. I heard the sharp ding of the elevator, indicating that it had reached its destination. The doors opened and I placed one shaky foot forward and then the other, looking around. It saddened me to see a little girl and her mother looking out at the sea. They didn't deserve to see what I was about to do but I wasn't going to back out because of concern for a couple people I didn't even know.

I walked to the railing that separated me from the open air. The girl tugged on her mother's shirt when she saw me.

"Mommy, look, it's the gym weader!" The woman seemed to be deep in thought as she looked out at the horizon, not hearing her daughter at first.

"Mommy what's he doing?"

"Mommy look!"

That finally got her attention and she turned towards me, letting out a small shriek of horror when she saw me climbing over the railing.

"D-don't look sweetie," she told her confused daughter, slowly walking in my direction like I was a bomb that would go off if she got too close.

"Volkner…" I barely noticed that she was saying my name. All I felt was the wind in my hair as I looked at the rocky shore below. A fall-or jump-from this height would guarantee death and I found that comforting in some strange, morbid way.

I released one hand from the railing, ready to go. This was it. I was going to do it. I was going to kill myself.

That is until I heard a familiarly angelic voice calling to me just before I had the chance to completely let go.

~Dawn~

"Volkner, no!" I called as soon as I spotted him, about to fall 200 feet off of the Vista Lighthouse.

I wasn't sure if he saw me at first but miraculously, he looked up, directly at me.

"Dawn?" I heard him whisper my name.

I know that I had only just met him not half an hour earlier but I wasn't going to let him do this. Nearly tripping several times, I ran to him as quickly as I could, grabbing hold of the hand that was still gripping the railing.

"Dawn, please don't try and stop me. I don't want you have to see this," he said. I could tell that he as struggling to keep his grip, his sweaty palm could slip any moment.

I simply shook my head, letting the adrenaline take over as I gripped the railing with all my might and swung one leg over than the other so that I was hanging beside Volkner, whose face filled with fear as he watched me. It didn't occur to me at the moment just how insane I was being.

"D-Dawn what the hell-?"

"If you jump I jump," I told him trying to sound calm despite the fact that I had never been so afraid. I prayed silently that he wouldn't let go, not sure if I would be willing to keep my word or not.

"Dawn, no, go back," he said.

"I can't now. So would you please just get yourself to safety and then help me up because I don't even know you so this would be a very pointless way to die." It was true, I physically couldn't get back up now; I had never had much upper body strength.

After what felt like an eternity, Volkner sighed and hoisted himself back onto the deck of the lighthouse, reaching down to pull me up like I weighed nothing once he was back on solid ground.

By this point, Flint and Barry had arrived. I wasn't sure just how I had gotten here so far ahead of them but shortly after Barry and I left the Sunyshore Gym, we noticed Volkner run by us, followed by Flint. Out of curiosity, we decided to follow Flint, who eventually had to stop and catch his breath, barely managing to get out something about Volkner planning on killing himself. Of course we didn't want that to happen so we decided to go with Flint to try and save his friend, which I had somehow managed to do. This day sure had taken a bizarre turn to say the least.

"Dawn!" Barry called, having seen me being pulled up from the side of the lighthouse by Volkner, "Dawn,are you okay?" He ran over and surprised me by pulling me into a tight hug, something he seldom did.

"Volkner!" Flint now joined our little group, embracing his friend. "I was so scared. Don't you ever pull something like that again!"

The gym leader just stood there, appearing to be in a state of complete, letting everything that had just happened sink in.

"Volkner, are you insane or something? What were you thinking?!" Barry yelled, finally releasing his grip on me.

"Barry!" I scolded, "You're so insensitive!"

"No," said Volkner, speaking up for the first time, "He's right. I am insane. And so are you, Dawn. You could have gotten yourself killed with me."

"But I didn't and now we're both alive."

"Thank you, Dawn," Flint said, "You risked your own life to save my friend. Not many people would do that for anyone, let alone someone they just met."

"Oh it was nothing. I'm just glad everyone's alright." I smiled awkwardly, trying to downplay what I had just done. Being praised had never really been something I liked.

"Yeah. Flint's right. If it wasn't for you, I'd be dead right now. I really don't know what I've been thinking lately, planning this out and never having the courage to go through with it until now. But I've realized that maybe being dead might not be such a good thing," Volkner added with a slight laugh.

"I'm just glad that everyone's alright," I said, noticing that although he was trying to act like he was okay, he really wasn't.

In an attempt to comfort him, I reached over a hugged him, just then realizing how much taller he was than me. The action took him by surprise and it was a few seconds before it occurred to him to hug me back, but eventually he did, which made me smile into his chest. It's not like I had feelings for the guy, he was probably at least six or seven years my senior; he just seemed like he needed a hug. He was kind of cute though…

_Arceus, Dawn, stop it. A guy like that would never go for a girl like you_, I reminded myself.

"Hey guys,I know this is a dramatic moment and all and I don't mean to interrupt or anything but I'm _starving_," Barry commented in a way that only he would, "Anyone know a good place to get some grub?"

_Wow, Barry, way to go._


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey hey hey! Thanks for reading:). This chapter's a bit short but I hope you guys like it. It would mean so much if some of you could give me a review so that I could see if you like my story and if not what I could do to make it better. Thanks so much! ^O^**

**Xoxo**

**~Dragonitrogen **

~Volkner~

I was still in shock by the time we sat down at a table in one of Flint's favorite restaurants. I couldn't believe everything that had happened; if you had asked me an hour ago where I'd be right now I probably would have said dead. That was the plan. But things took an unexpected turn when Dawn showed up after Flint told her what I was going to do. She had literally threatened to kill herself with me; I mean, who is brave enough to do that? Not that she would have gone through with it for sure, there really was no way of telling

One thing was for sure; Dawn was much more than your average pretty girl. She was brave and kind and funny and she actually seemed like she cared about me.

After Barry had proclaimed that he was hungry, Flint decided to buy the three of us (Dawn, Barry and me) lunch and I wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to get free food while also getting to talk to Dawn. I had found out a lot about her over the past half hour. She was sixteen years old (shit, I totally am a creep), she and Barry had come all the way from Twinleaf town where they had grown up together, her partner Pokemon was a Piplup that had recently evolved into Empoleon and her main goal was to become top coordinator like her mother had been, while Barry's was to become the Sinnoh League.

"So, Volkner, do you think you're ever going to reopen your gym?" She asked me, attempting to hide how hard she was trying not to bring up the day's earlier

"I really don't know. I just don't feel the same way about battling that I used to."

"Why not? Did something happen?"

"Not exactly. Over time, I began to grow tired of all the boring battles but I continued to train anyway and the stronger I became, the less challenging the exciting the battles were."

"Well would you maybe consider having a battle with me?" Dawn asked.

Her offer caught me off guard.

"Battle you?" I asked, "But I thought you said you were a coordinator.

"I am! But I still have to raise strong Pokemon for the battle portion of my contests."

"Battle portion?" This was all new information to me. I really didn't know much about Pokemon contests.

"Don't tell me you've never seen a Pokemon contest?" Dawn looked shocked as I shook my head.

"You'll have to watch one soon! They show them all on TV. Maybe you'll even see me in the Floaroma Town contest. That's the next one I'm competing in," Dawn said, "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, I've been getting off topic. You asked about the battle portion of the contests, right?"

I nodded, amused by how concerned she was with her little speech. It was really quite cute.

"Well, if a coordinator scores high enough in the first round, also known as the appeal portion, of a contest, they advance to round two; the battle portion. Coordinators are randomly matched up to battle, where the goal is to knock out the opponent's Pokemon while showcasing your own Pokemon's beauty. It's similar to a gym battle, but not exactly the same." Dawn obviously knew a lot about contests; her description sounded as if it had come straight from a guide book.

"That sound so cool!" Flint, who had been listening on on our conversation exclaimed, "You should totally battle her, Volkner!"

"Okay, fine. We can battle after lunch."

"No way are you going to win, Dawnie," Barry said, "Volkner's tough. Even I couldn't beat him." The way he said it, you'd think he had already accomplished his goal of becoming champion.

"You're not that good, Barry," Dawn said.

"Well neither are you," he countered. Even though they didn't have the same ultimate goal, they were definitely rivals. But at the same time they were best friends.

"Shut up, Barry," Dawn said with a slight laugh.

"Ouch, Dawnie, that really hurt my feelings," replied Barry with mock sadness.

She rolled her eyes at the blonde boy, who stuck his tongue out in response.

"You guys remind me so much of Volkner and I when we were younger," Flint commented.

"Really?" the two asked in unison, clearly surprised.

"Yeah," I added, "We've been friends since way before we were your age. We used to argue all the time over who was a better trainer."

"And clearly it was me," said Flint.

"Ha ha, good one Flint. Just because you're now doesn't mean that you're better than me."

"Mr. Elite?" Barry asked. I guess Flint had forgot to mention his job to them.

"Yeah, Flint's a member of the Sinnoh Elite Four," I told them.

"Wow!" Dawn exclaimed, "That's awesome! I've never met a member of the Elite Four before and now that you mention it, you do look familiar. I think I've seen you battling on TV. You're the fire type specialist, right?"

"That's right. Fire Pokemon are the best!" Flint pumped his fist in the air for added effect.

"Sure, keep telling yourself that. But anyone would agree that electric types are way better than fire types," I said.

"Sorry, Volkner, but I have to agree with Flint on this one. Fire types beat electric types any day," commented Barry. Flint leaned across the table to give him a high five.

"That's right, little man!" I sighed, knowing that I had lost the argument. Until Dawn decided to chime in, that is.

"Are you insane, Barry? Electric types are clearly much better than fire types!"

"No way. You're the one who's insane, Dawnie!"

"You know," Dawn said, turning back towards Flint and me, "I think I'm starting to see what you meant when you said that Barry and I reminded you of yourselves." We all laughed and I couldn't help but think about how this terrible day had suddenly turned into one of the best I'd had in a while. And it was all because of Dawn.

~Dawn~

Volkner and I were both on our last Pokemon; it was his Raichu against my Togekiss. The battle had been going on for nearly half an hour now and both of our Pokemon were exhausted. Flint and Barry watched from the bleachers; the latter being in a state of distress brought upon by my doing better than him against Volkner.

I had never had a gym battle before and I had to admit that it was kind of fun.

"Togekiss, use sky attack!" I told my Pokemon. She obeyed, moving towards Raichu quickly from above.

"Raichu, get on its back!" Volkner commanded. His Pokemon did as it was told, dodging the attack and landing on a surprised Togekiss, who flew back up, trying desperately to shake off its opponent. Unfortunately for me, Raichu was very well trained and able to stay on.

"Now, use discharge!" the gym leader commanded. I was suddenly unable to see my Pokemon over the flash of light but I could take a good guess as to how she what she was feeling.

"Togekiss!" I called, finally seeing her fall from the sky, unconscious.

"No!" I ran onto the battle field and took her face onto my lap, stroking it gently.

"Kiss...," I heard her mutter weakly, showing me that she was alright.

"You did so well," I told her before returning her to her Pokeball. I was too concerned by my Pokemon's health that I hadn't noticed Volkner walking over to me.

"That was the best battle I've had in years," he said, offering me his hand to help me off of the floor, where I still sat.

"R-Really?" I asked as I let him help me up.

"Yeah. You're really good."

"So are you! You're amazing, actually." I felt the heat rush to my cheeks as soon as the words came out of my mouth. I must have sounded like his fangirl or something.

"Thanks," Volkner said, not seeming to notice how red I had turned,"But I'm not the one who does all the work. I have my Pokemon to thank for that."

Before I could agree, I heard Barry's loud voice coming from behind my back.

"Hey! How dare you do better than me! How did you do that?"

"I don't know; I guess I'm just more talented than you," I said just to agitate him.

/"Then prove it! Let's battle right now!"

"Um, Barry, did you forget that I don't have any healthy Pokemon right now?"

"Oh right. Whoops. But don't think I wont remember to battle you later!"

"That was incredible, Dawn," Flint said, joining us,"I've never seen anyone hold their own against Volkner like that before. Have you ever thought about competing in the Sinnoh League?"

"Uh…no," I replied, taken aback by his question. Me taking on gym challenges? I just couldn't imagine it.

"You should consider it. You'd make a really great trainer. Right, Volkner?"

"Definitely," Volkner agreed.

"Well, that's very nice of you guys but I already have so much on my plate with contests and helping Barry prepare for his gym battles," I said, suddenly remembering my poor Pokemon,"Oh my gosh! I completely forgot! I need to get my Pokemon to the Pokemon center right away!"

I grabbed my bag and ran out the door, the thought of myself as a Pokemon trainer lingering in the back of my mind.

~Volkner~

"Volkner is a perv! Volkner is a perv!" Flint sang as he ran around my apartment.

I picked up a pillow from the couch and threw it at the annoying redhead.

"If anyone's a perv, it's you Flint!"

"I know that; I'm just excited that you've joined the club."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about how you're in love with a sixteen year old."

"Who? Dawn? I am not in love with Dawn! I barely even know her."

"Dude, you're blushing. You are completely in love with her." He grabbed a beer from my fridge. "And not to mention she saved your life today. She's basically your knight in shinning armor." Flint laughed, probably thinking that he was the most hilarious thing in the world.

"Shut up, Flint!"

"Hey, I'm not judging. She is kind of hot."

Now I was mad.

"Don't you dare say that, Flint! She's only sixteen!"

"Arceus, calm down. It's not like I'd actually do anything with her, she's just a kid. Plus, we probably wont see her again."

My heart sunk with the realization that he was right. Dawn would be heading to the Floaroma Town contest anytime now/

"Y-yeah. We won't see her again," I said, repeating Flint's words.

"You look like you're straight up about to cry! Just admit to me that you're in love with Dawn and I'll make sure you get to see her again."

"What? How?," I sighed, shaking my head, "Never mind. It doesn't matter because I don't feel that way about her." I was such a bad liar and I knew Flint could see right through me.

"Yes you do. It's so obvious."

"Okay fine!" I yelled, giving up, "I like Dawn! Happy?"

"Very," he said with an extremely suspicious grin that prompted me to wonder just what I had gotten myself into.


End file.
